It’s a misty Saturday in Cape Town and the winter sun is setting in a pink haze as the Blue Train leaves the suburbs and makes its way past the granite domes of Paarl. I’m sitting in the observation car – the rearmost carriage, with big windows on three sides – and I watch as the silhouette of the Taal Monument flashes past.
Only a handful of the roughly 30 passengers on board for the two-night, 1 660 km journey from Cape Town to Pretoria are seated here, looking out at the orchards and vineyards of the Boland. The rest are getting dressed up for tonight’s four-course meal. Earlier I overheard a woman whisper: “Do we really have to wear ball gowns?”
The ice in my glass clinks softly with the sway of the train. The sound mixes with the click-clack of the wheels, the Texan twang of the American couple next to me, and the long vowels of a group of Australians in the corner. All of it forms a soothing sort of background music.
The train only departed an hour ago, but already I can feel my stress melting away. Over the next 41 hours, the train will cut across South Africa through places like Beaufort West, De Aar, Kimberley, and Klerksdorp. It’s a five-star hotel-on-wheels – a regular winner at the World Travel Awards, where it has won World’s Leading Luxury Train eight times and Africa’s Leading Luxury Train for ten consecutive years. US designer David Barrett did the interior in the late 1990s – a blend of old-world glamour and safari chic. If something is not wood-paneled, it’s gilded. Indeed, the Blue Train is an elegant old dame, and she’s not wearing the latest fashions. “These curtains were put up in 1997 and forgotten about,” one of the passenger's grumbles.
Esta historia es de la edición November 2019 de go! - South Africa.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición November 2019 de go! - South Africa.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
The wilder shore
The final leg of a 30-day trek across East Africa sees lan Tyrer and the Africa - Wild & Untamed crew explore both shores of Lake Malawi. Get ready for an overloaded ferry, a croc attack and being surrounded by elephants...
A river runs through it
Sabie is onthe Drakensberg escaromentialongMpumalanga’s famous Panorama Route. Want a weekend away surrounded by forests and waterfalls? Here's wnat you need to know.
TAKE A HIKE
Harkerville's mini Otter
Sweet & juicy!
This issue's recipes all include lush seasonal fruit like nectarines, plums and apricots. Enjoy!
Big mountain magic
On a clear day, as you approach the Cathedral Peak Hotel, it happens involuntarily: You start to grin. You'll be standing up there soon, gazing over this valley, and the scuttling of ground-level life will seem irrelevant. Join us on a five-day adventure into the heart of the high Drakensberg
Your next weekend away
A self-catering house in the Tankwa, a campsite next to the Orange River, a guest farm near the Drakensberg... Toast Coetzer travelled a lot last year: Here are six of his favourite places to stay if you're planning a road trip or weekend escape.
A life through binoculars
If the name Hugh Chittenden sounds familiar, it's probably because you see it every time you use your Roberts Bird Guide he's one of the co-authors. He lives in Mtunzini on the KZN coast and birding is as much part of his day as a cup of coffee.
Wanderlust in the park
All great cities have great parks, writes Dara Kell: spaces where you can exhale and slough off the stress and grime of urban life.
The Kalahari remembers
The Kalahari is a place of magic and heartache, where drought is an ever-present threat. Drive a loop from Upington to the Kuruman River and discover soulful landscapes, brilliant skies and resilient people who never give up.
Take a Hike
Hug a baobab in the Bushveld